Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organization of 52 countries and states that were former members of the British Empire. The commonwealth was created by the Balfour Declaration on 19 November 1926, when Earl Balfour claimed that all British dominions were united in their loyalty to the crown of the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth's many nations would join Britain during World War II, both colonies (British Raj and Mandatory Palestine) and fellow nations (Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, etc.), but the Commonwealth has since ceased to be a military alliance and more of a collection of nations with a shared heritage.